∙ Address: Hogil Memorial Bldg. 5th floor, POSTECH, San 31 Hyoja-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 790-784, Korea
∙ Telephone: +82-54-279-8661~5
∙ Facsimile: +82-54-279-8679
∙ Homepage: www.apctp.org

Pohang is located approximately 250 miles southeast of Seoul, the capital city of Korea. A thirty-minute drive to the south of Pohang takes you to Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Shilla Dynasty. Daegu, the third largest city in Korea and the center of North Gyeongsang Province, is a one hour drive to the west. The national expressway passes through Daegu and Gyeongju and an industrial expressway also runs from Gyeongju and Pohang to help transport products of POSCO and other related industries in Pohang.

Pohang was once a small fishing village until POSCO found its steel-making plants near this coastal town in 1970. It was the birth of POSTECH in 1986 that firmly established Pohang’s reputation as a center for science and technology. With a completion of the Pohang Technopark in 2007, Pohang and the surrounding area now have approximately half million residents and have become one of the most important industrial centers in Korea.

Pohang greets the sunrise earlier than any other city on the Korean Peninsula and is a Mecca for the iron industry and home to POSCO, POSTECH, and RIST. The POSTECH campus lies a twenty-minute drive by car or bus away from downtown Pohang, and a forty-minute drive away from the eastern coast. The countryside around Pohang is rich in crops, thanks to an abundant supply of water and fertile soil. Sun dried squid and processed marine foods and leeks are important products of the area. Tourism is popular because Pohang’s eastern coastal areas offer relaxing beaches and picturesque views. The mountainous region hosts Bogyeong and Oeo Temples, which are popular hiking sites. With remnants of an old fishing village and the nation’s latest advancements, Pohang is truly a mixture of the old and the new, both traditional and modern cultures.

The Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) is an international research center that pursues excellence in research, trains young scientist in all areas of theoretical physics, and promotes international cooperation among scientists from member countries/regions in Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

The Center was established in June 1996 in Korea, with Professor C. N. Yang as its founding president. As an international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), its current 14 member countries/regions are Australia, Beijing, India, Japan, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, Taipei, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

When Indicating Korea Time: Present Time (GMT+9) / No daylight savings time

The standard voltage in Korea is 220 volts. The outlet has two round holes and is the same type used in France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Turkey, and many other countries. If you do not have a multi-voltage travel adapter, you can buy in electronic store and big supermarket.

US $1 is about 1200 won (The exchange rate may change). You can get the current exchange rate from internet. The unit of Korean currency is the 'won'. Coin denominations are 10 won, 50 won, 100 won, 500 won. Bank notes are 1,000 won, 5,000 won, 10,000 won, 50,000won. Foreign bank notes and traveler's checks can be converted into Korean won at foreign exchange banks and other authorized money changers.

The Republic of Korea, located on the eastern edge of the Asian continent, has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. Winters are cold and are influenced primarily by the Siberian air mass. Summers are hot and humid due to the maritime Pacific High. The transition seasons, spring and fall, are sunny and generally dry.

The variation of the annual mean temperature ranges from 10 degrees to 16 degrees Celsius. August is the hottest month, with the mean temperature ranging from 25 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius. January is the coldest month with the mean temperature ranging from -10 degrees to 5 degrees Celsiu. Annual precipitation is about 1,500mm in the southern regions and about 1,300mm in the central regions. More than half of the total rainfall is concentrated in the summer season, while the winter precipitation is less than 10% of the total precipitation.

The prevailing winds are the southwesterly in summer and northwesterly in winter. The winds are stronger in winter particularly from December to February. The land-sea breeze becomes prominent with weakened monsoonal winds in the transitory months, September and October.

The relative humidity is the highest in July at 80% to 90% nationwide and the lowest in January and April at 30% to 50%. It has a moderate value of about 70% in September and October. The monsoon front approaches the Korean peninsula from the south in late June, migrating gradually to the north. Significant rainfall occurs when a stationary front lies over the Korean peninsula. The rainfall period over Korea, referred to as Changma, continues for a month. A short period of rainfall comes again in early September when the monsoon front retreats back from the north.

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